Quarterback Colt McCoy said, "I'm not a big gamer, but I'll get him to sign one for me or something."

Cornerback Joe Haden tweeted, "@thepeytonhillis just handed out #madden12 in the locker room! I (know) what I'm doing 2night!"

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On Monday night, there is no question what hard-core gamers in the area will be doing: Waiting in line to be one of the first to get their hands on the newest edition of the Madden football game franchise.

This wait will be special. For the first time in the history of Madden video games, a Browns player will grace the cover -- the likeable and humble Hillis, who won a fan vote on espn.com for the right to be on the cover. The Browns running back beat out Eagles QB Michael Vick.

Stores such as Best Buy, GameStop and Wal-Mart will be open at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning selling Madden 12.

That kind of Madden mania has Hill humbled.

"It's exciting," Hillis said. "I've been very blessed. I'm kind of speechless at times. You can never lose focus. You can't stay enough humble. You have to go there and do what you can. I'm grateful for the opportunity I had, but it's time to move on and get focused on more important things ... I've never been worried about a curse."

Hillis, of course, is referring to the so-called Madden Curse, a fabled belief by some who say the NFL player to grace the game's cover will succumb to injury. Nonsense, says Hillis.

"We're in the middle of football now, and the regular season is about to begin and we have one preseason game (remaining)," Hillis said. "I'm more focused on that now."

That type of thinking from Hillis surely pleases Shurmur, who, as one would expect, isn't a video gamer. His son Kyle is, and that means the QB at St. Edward High School isn't excited just because Hillis graces the cover.

"I think he's interested to see what I look like in the game too," Shurmur said.